CB: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

Manchester United centre-back Nemanja Vidic's header against Bayern Munich in a 1-1 first-leg draw could be a pivotal moment if United can sneak a 1-0 win in the second leg.

Vidic attacked United deep-lying forward Wayne Rooney's corner, and it is the reason why United manager David Moyes is spared universal condemnation for the time being.

Everyone expected Bayern to arrive at Old Trafford and humiliate United.

Well, Moyes parked the bus right in front of goal, and Vidic, who will be an Inter Milan player next season, was immense at the back.

Bayern need to work on their set-piece defending, because it will be United's only avenue of scoring in the next leg.

CB: Marc Bartra (Barcelona)

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Barcelona centre-back Marc Bartra's time to shine is right now.

Why?

Barca centre-back Gerard Pique is out for the foreseeable future with a hip fracture, per BBC Sport, and the club has been issued a one-year transfer ban for breaching rules on signing minors, per James Riach at TheGuardian.

Bartra would have probably spent the game in the 1-1 first-leg draw against Atletico Madrid on the bench if Pique did not break down.

Yes, Bartra's job was made easier with Atleti centre-forward Diego Costa going down with injury, but it was an inspired performance from Bartra.

If Barca's lawyers cannot overturn the transfer-window ban via the Court of Arbitration in Sport, as Chelsea did in 2010, per Sam Wallace at TheIndependent, it will give Bartra one season to solidify his starting position.

LB: Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid)

Coentrao had only played seven La Liga games and one Champions League match headed into the fixture; therefore, you presumed he would be a weak link.

Instead, Coentrao stood toe-to-toe with Dortmund right attacking midfielder Marco Reus, who did not score or create a goal.

CM: Isco (Real Madrid)

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Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti backed up his talk of moving Isco into midfield, who, like Angel Di Maria, looks like a central midfielder despite it not being a preferred position.

Di Maria being ill led to Isco's chance, per Football Espana, and he was influential in first-leg win over Borussia Dortmund.

Isco completed 95 percent of his passes, made three tackles and registered three key passes (a pass that leads to a shot).

Several weeks earlier, Ancelotti had spoken about changing Isco from a central attacking midfielder to a central midfielder.

"I have spoken with Isco about the comparison with [Clarence] Seedorf," Ancelotti said, per Dermot Corrigan at ESPN FC. "There is more important defensive work in this position [central midfield]. He [Isco] can play there no problem he can help the team here [sic]."

CM: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

He led the game in passes made (80) and goalscoring chances created (four).

He made the final pass to Real left forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored Real's third.

CM: Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain)

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Paris Saint-Germain central midfielder Blaise Matuidi highlighted the gap in quality between him and Chelsea central midfielder David Luiz.

Luiz was a liability, giving away pointless free-kicks, being consistently caught out of position and scoring in the wrong net.

Meanwhile, Matuidi bossed midfield, which was a factor in PSG's 3-1 first-leg win over Chelsea.

Luiz made five tackles in return for five free-kicks conceded, whereas Matuidi made six tackles and conceded no free-kicks.

RF: Neymar (Barcelona)

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Barcelona manager Tata Martino is a quirky guy.

He said he wanted to celebrate Atletico Madrid midfielder Diego Ribas' outrageous long-range goal, per ESPN.co.uk.

Though, that isn't the most quizzical behaviour from Martino in Barca's 1-1 first-leg draw against Atleti.

What is the point of spending €57 million on Neymar, per Barcelona's official website, with the entire package estimated at around €86.2 million, per Reuters, only to play Neymar on the wrong side?

He is a left-sided player, not a right-sided player.

Unless Martino wants to play Neymar on the right wing for an extended period of time, presumably to complement Andres Iniesta on the left wing, there is no point in playing Neymar on the right side in such a big game.

In fairness to Martino, it was a gutsy decision, and Neymar was great on the right flank considering the circumstances, but how did his goal come about?

On the left wing with him creating an angle and curling a right-footed shot past Atleti goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

CF: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

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It was not a vintage performance from Barcelona deep-lying forward Lionel Messi in Barca's first-leg draw against Atletico Madrid.

However, he kept on advancing play and had a positive mindset throughout the game.

He tested Atleti goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois twice and created three goalscoring chances.

To a degree, Messi is only included in this select 11 because of what his fellow centre-forwards and deep-lying forwards did not do in their respective games.

Atleti centre-forward Diego Costa's game against Barca prematurely ended in the 30th minute with a hamstring injury, per BBC Sport.

Dortmund centre-forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was lively but did not score or create a goal.

Manchester United deep-lying forward Wayne Rooney did two things of note in a 1-1 first-leg draw against Bayern Munich: Sent in a great corner and contributed to Bastian Schweinsteiger's sending-off with some convincing acting, despite Schweinsteiger getting 100 percent ball.

Bayern deep-lying forward ThomasMueller could not break down United's wall.

LF: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

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You tend to wonder if deep down Real Madrid left forward Cristiano Ronaldo wants to play with Gareth Bale.

Every time Bale shoots, it is one less shot Ronaldo can take.

This is why Ronaldo is screaming for the ball, receiving it and shooting, averaging 6.9 shots in the UEFA Champions League (7.4 in La Liga).

Ronaldo had scored 14 goals in eight Champions League games, and he added extra insurance to Real by scoring a third in a 3-0 first-leg win over Borussia Dortmund.

You can fault Ronaldo for having tunnel vision, but his goalscoring record (42 goals in 35 combined La Liga/Champions League games) is incredible.